MARK YOUR CALENDAR – 

The “Palm Beach County Flamingos”, filmed by the NBC News for the TODAY SHOW, is scheduled to be aired as a closer this Saturday June 11— we hope you can tune in a catch the broadcast around 8:30 am EDT.

Palm Beach County is fortunate and unique in that a “flamboyance” of American Flamingos has been visiting the same SFWMD Restricted Access area in remote Palm Beach County annually for at least 10 years. In 2014, the group numbered over 140 – the most Flamingos seen in the wild in Florida in over 100 years!

Florida has been successful in promoting Flamingos as a symbol of “all things Florida” – however, it is RARE to see Flamingos in Florida outside of captive populations in zoos, sanctuaries, or Hialeah racetrack.

John James Audubon and others reported Flamingos in the hundreds and even thousands in the southern Everglades in the 1800s. Like other birds, their numbers dropped dramatically at the turn of the century and have not rebounded.

Catching a glimpse of an American Flamingo in the wild is both challenging and rewarding. Challenging because they are typically only seen in remote locations and are few in number. Rewarding because of their elegance, beauty and their rarity in Florida.

In 2015 SFWMD contracted with the Palm Beach County Audubon chapter, The Audubon Society of the Everglades (ASE), to offer tours into the Restricted Area to give the public an opportunity to see the Flamingos in the wild. Since the birds are free to come and go as they please, there are no guarantees the birds will be seen, however, people have come from 5 countries, over 20 states and everywhere in Florida for a “chance” to see these striking birds in the wild.

Unfortunately, the tours for 2016 have ended. If you would like to be notified of the 2017 tour schedule, sign up for the ASE Email list on the web site and select “Flamingo trips”.